Bottle inspecting apparatus



Nov. 19, 1935. A c. H. MILLER 2,021,696

BOT'ZPLE INSPECTING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 6, 1932 '3 Sheets-Sheet l 21' 155 Z02 16 g Z2 INVENTOR.

fiver/es H. Mil/6t;

ATTORNEYS Nov. 19, 1935. c. H. MILLER 2,021,696

BOTTLE INSPECTING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 6, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Charles H .M illez;

ATTORNEYS Nov. 19, 1935. c, H. MILLER 2,021,696

BOTTLE INSPECTI NG APPARATUS Filed Feb. 6, 1952 s Sheets-Sheet a I NVEN TOR.

Char/e5 HJIiZZez;

BY '%W ATTCRNEYS Patented Nov. 19, 1935 UNHTED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE INSPECTING APPARATUS Application February 6, 1932, Serial No. 591,434

8 Claims.

My invention relates to machines for handling filled bottles of beverages, primarily for the purpose of inspecting the contents of the bottles. My invention has for another object that of mixing the contents of the bottles during their inspection, not only for the purpose of mixing the contents thoroughly but also for the purpose of insuring a more thorough inspection there-of.

My invention is designed to permit rapid inspection and handling of bottled beverages or other bottled goods with a minimum effort on the part of the operator and with a minimum eye strain to the operator.

For the purpose of disclosing my invention I have illustrated certain embodiments thereof in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detailed transverse section of the machine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4' is a front elevation of the inspection apparatus with the illuminating box removed;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation, more or less schematic, of a modified construction embodying my invention, and

Fig. 6 is a detailed section of the control valve used in the structure illustrated in Fig. 5.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings having reference first to the structure illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, a base structure l is provided comprising a bottom plate 2 from which vertically extends a pair of side plates 3, which in turn support at their tops a top table 4. The bottom plate 2 is provided with a socket 5 adapted to receive a support post or standard 6 adjustably supported in a base I.

A suitable flexible conveyor 8 preferably of the continuous type, travels longitudinally of the top plate 4-, in the same plane thereof and in proximity to the front edge of the support base. This conveyor passes over an operating sprocket 9 mounted between extension arms It on one of the side members 3 and the bottom course returns through the side members, it being guided by suitable rollers ll supported in the base structure i. Adjacent the front edge of the conveyor 8 is mounted an oscillating shaft i2 supported in suitable bearings I3I3 extending forwardly from the side members 3. This shaft has fixed thereon a series of fingers l4, illustrated as at 5. These fingers are spaced apart a sufiicient distance to support a bottle between the same without permitting the bottle to drop through.

The fingers are maintained in their raised or upper position by means of a crank arm l5 secured to the shaft [2 and having its outer end 5 connected by a fiexible chain coupling I6 and a link rod I! with a counter-weight Hi. This chain. passes over a roller 19 located to the rear of the arm I5. 7

The bottles to be inspected are brought oppo- 10 site the supporting fingers M by means of the traveling conveyor 8 and are prevented from moving past their predetermined position by an end stop member 29 overhanging the conveyor and in the path of the bottles and supported 15 or bolted to the top plate 4. When the bottles strike the stop member 20 the conveyor may continue in its movement without moving the botties any farther as there is a certain amount of slippage between the bottles and the conveyor. 20 When the bottles have reached a position opposite the arms M they are moved off of the conveyor and on to the arms by means of a pusher plate 29 mounted on the front end of a reciprocating plunger 22 supported on the plate 25 t. This plunger moves the bottles transversely of the conveyor and causes them to tilt onto the supporting arms 14. This pusher plate 2|, at its forward end is provided with a stop plate 2i which, when the pusher plate has reached the 30 limit of its transverse movement is pushed in the path of the bottles on the conveyor 8 to prevent a continued forward movement of the bottles until after the pusher plate has been retracted. 35 When the bottles are tilted on to the supporting arm M, by means of the pusher plate 2!, their weight is sufficient to overcome the counter-bal- 25 and mounted beneath this shield is a series of electric lamps 2?, one for each bottle, sup- 5O ported in sockets 28. The inspection box is preferably supported from arms 29 extending from the base member I and is supported in a tilted position so that, when the bottles are supported by. the arms in the lowered position, the bottles 55 will lie parallel with the lamps 27 with the ends of the bottles abutting against the front plate 23.

In the bottling of beverages, particularly fiavored beverages, the syrup is first deposited in the bottle and then the bottle is filled with suitable carbonated water. As a result of this manner of filling the bottles the syrup, until the bottle is agitated lies in a stratum at the bottom of the bottle having above it a stratum of water. As a result, under the heretofore known commercial types of bottle inspecting devices, due to the dense and comparatively darkly colored syrup in the bottom of the bottle complete inspection could not be made as it has been diificult to see any foreign particles which would naturally tend to drop to the bottom of the bottle. With applicants structure, due to the tilting of the bottle as it is being deposited into the inspection box, this denser and colored syrup is mixed with the carbonated water thereby becoming more transparent and any particles which have settled m the bottom of the bottle would tend to float toward the top so that they would be more readily seen.

After the bottles have been inspected in the inspection box they are removed by the operator and when the weight of the bottles has been removed from the fingers M the counter-balancing weight I8 will raise the fingers to their initial position and in a position to receive another series of bottles. The pusher 2| is again moved forward to repeat the process of depositing the bottles on the fingers. To the end that the pusher may be automatically operated the pusher rod 22 is connected by a link bar 3!) with a crank arm 3! mounted on the shaft 32. This shaft has rotatably mounted thereon a driving bevel gear 33, the hub of which is extended through the bearing 34. This bevel gear 33 is driven by a bevel gear 35 operated from any suitable source of power such as an electric motor, or other means. The lower end of the hub 34 is provided with a clutch member 36 adapted to cooperate with a second clutch member 31 splined or keyed on the shaft 32 and axially movable thereon, this axial movement being imparted thereto by a shift lever 38 having a fork 39 operating in an annular groove 55 on the clutch member 31 and pivoted as at 4! on a support 42 extending downwardly from the base member I. The opposite end of this lever has passing therethrough the connecting link rod H of the counter-weight i8 and this link rod has mounted thereon and above the lever 38 a lever operating stop 43. Therefore as the counter-weight is lowered with the raising of the arms [4, this stop 43 engaging the end of the lever 38 depresses this end and engages the clutch, con meeting the shaft 32 with its driving power through the bevel gears 33 and 35. At the same time that the outer end of the lever 38 is depressed it is caught by a latch member M- adapted to engage a pin 55 on the lever and biased to engaging position by a coiled spring 46. This latch member is mounted on a rod 41 one end of which bears against a cam 48 on the end of the iaft 32. The cam is so positioned on the shaft as to move the 'latch into engaging position as soon as the end of the lever 38 is depressed by the stop .3 and maintain the same in this position, and the clutch therefore engaged, during one cycle of movement of the pusher member 2!. That is, the clutch is maintained engaged until the pusher member has advanced transversely of the conveyor 8 to deposit a set of bottles on the fingers l4 and then retracted to its initial position. By the time the pusher member 2| has been retracted to its initial position the fingers M will have been lowered suificiently to raise the stop member out of engagement with the end of the lever 88 so that, at this time the latch member M will be disengaged from the finger 55 permitting the pusher member to come to rest, and the pusher will not again be operated to deposit another set of bottles on the fingers until the fingers have been raised to receiving position.

In order to prevent the bottles which are moved into position on the conveyor, during the'time that the fingers M are in their lowered position from being crowded off of the conveyor, I provide a stop arm id which is arranged along the side of the conveyor and which is engaged by. fingers 5E5 on the fingers or arms id to raise the same when the fingers or arms i are in their lowermost position. A second set of fingers 5i depress this side member 39 when the arms or fingers [4 are raised so that, it will offer no obstruction to the passage of the bottles from the conveyor on the arms or fingers M. In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a modified construction of my invention wherein the pusher member is operated by air pressure. To tlL's end I provide an air cylinder 52 having a piston 53 operatin therein, which piston is connected with the pusher member 2! by a piston rod 5 5. The pusher member 21 is biased towards its retracted position by a suitable coiled spring 55. The rear end of the cylinder 52 is connected by suitable piping 55 through a two-way valve 57 and a conduit 5% with a suitable source of pressure supply. An arm 53 is connected to the shaft [2 and through the means of a link E59, the free end of this arm is connected to an operating arm ti for the twoway valve. The link 69 is provided with a slot 62 to permit a lost motion between the arm 55 and the link 60. With this construction as the arms or fingers l4 move to their lowermost position, the free end of the arm 59, through the link 58 and the arm 6 I, rotates the two-way valve to a position to shut off the supply of fiuid pres sure and at the same time connect the cylinder 52 with an exhaust 63. This exhausts the pressure behind the piston 53 permitting the spring 55 to return the pusher to its retracted position. As soon, however, as the arms or fingers M move to their raised position under the influence of the counter-weight 6 after the bottles have been removed therefrom, the valve 5'1 is operated to shut off the escape opening 63 and admit pressure to the cylinder 52 thereby projecting the pusher member across the conveyor.

In order to reduce the current consumption and to prevent the lamps from burning except during actual inspection periods, I introduce in the electrical circuit of the lamps a switch 65 which is adapted to be closed when the supporting arms and fingers M are in their lowered position and opened when the fingers I i move to their upper or receivin position.

If for any reason the bottles on the conveyor become jammed or are prevented from moving transversely of the conveyor during the pushing movement of the pusher 2|, there would be danger of breaking the bottles or some part of the machine. To prevent this the crank arm BI is releasably connected to the shaft 32. The shaft 32 is provided with a notch or recess 56 in which engages a pin 61 biased in its engaging position by a coiled spring 68 interposed between the head of the pin and a plug 69 threaded into the housing 10 for the pin. This construction 7 normally holds the crank arm 3| connected to the shaft 32 but in event of an overload for any reason the parts will be disconnected until normal conditions are restored.

I claim the following:

1, In a filled bottle inspecting machine, the combination with a conveyor supporting the bottles to be inspected in a vertical upright position, of a plurality of spaced-apart bottle supporting members pivoted at their lower ends at the side of the conveyor with the axes of their pivots substantially in the same plane as the conveyor and parallel with the line of travel of the conveyor, the spaces between the supports being less than the width of a bottle, said supporting members in their receiving position projecting at an angle above the horizontal and in a position to receive the bottles neck up and swingable on their pivots from said position to an angle below the horizontal to substantially invert the bottles, and means for moving the bottles transversely of the conveyor onto the supports when the same are in receiving position.

2. In a filled bottle inspecting machine, the combination with a conveyor supporting the bottles in a vertical upright position, of a plurality of spaced-apart bottle supporting members pivoted at their lower ends at the side of the conveyor in substantially the same plane as the conveyor with the axes of their pivots parallel with the line of travel of the conveyor, the spaces be tween thesupports being less than the width of a bottle, means for biasing said supports in a position above the horizontal and sufiiciently inclined from the vertical to receive the bottle in an inclined position to cause the weight of the upper part of the bottle to overcome said biasing means and rotate said supports on their pivots to a position inclined below the horizontal to substantially invert the bottles, and means for moving the bottles transversely of the conveyor and onto the supports when they are in their receiving position.

3. In a filled bottle inspecting machine, the combination with a conveyor supporting the bottles in a vertical upright position, of a plurality of spaced-apart bottle supporting members pivoted at their lower ends at the side of the conveyor in substantially the same plane as the conveyor with the axes of their pivots parallel with the line of travel of the conveyor, the spaces between said supports being less than the width of a bottle, said supporting members in their receiving position projecting in an angle above the horizontal and in a position to receive the bottle neck up and swingable on their pivots from said position to an angle below the horizontal to substantially invert the bottles, and intermittently operated transfer means for moving the bottles transversely of said conveyor and onto said supports.

4. In a filled bottle inspecting machine, the combination with a conveyor supporting the bottles in a vertical upright position, of a plurality of spaced-apart bottle supporting members pivoted at their lower ends at the side of the conveyor in substantially the same plane as the conveyor with the axes of their pivots parallel with the line or travel of the conveyor, the spaces between the supports being less than the width of a bottle, said supporting members in their receiving position projecting at an angle above the horizontal and in a position to receive the bottles neck up and swingable on their pivots from said position to an angle below the horizontal to substantially invert the bottles, means for moving the bottles transversely of the conveyor veyor in substantially the same plane as the.

conveyor with the axes of their pivots parallel to the line of travel of the conveyor, the spaces between the supports being less than the width of a bottle, said supporting members in their receiving position projecting at an angle above the horizontal and in a position to receive the bottles neck up and swingable on their pivots from said position to an angle below the horizontal to substantially invert the bottles, means for stopping the movement of said bottles on said conveyor with the bottles opposite the spaces between said supports, and means for moving the bottles transversely of said conveyor onto said supports.

6. In a filled bottle inspecting machine, the combination with a conveyor supporting the botties in a vertical upright position, of a plurality of spaced-apart bottle supporting members pivoted at their lower ends at the side of the conveyor in substantially the same plane as the conveyor with the axes of their pivots parallel with the line of travel of the conveyor, the spaces between the supports being less than the width of a bottle, said supporting members in their receiving position projecting at an angle above the horizontal and in a position to receive the battles neck up and swingable on their pivots from said position to an angle below the horizontal to substantially invert the bottles, means for moving the bottles transversely of the conveyor onto the supports, driving means for said means and a slip connection between said driving means and said means.

"I. In a filled bottle inspecting machine, the combination with a conveyor supporting the bottles in a vertical upright position, of a plurality of spaced-apart bottle supporting members pivoted at their lower ends at the side of the conveyor in substantially the same plane as the conveyor with the axes of their pivots parallel with the line of travel of the conveyor, the spaces between the supports being less than the width of a bottle, said supporting members in their receiving position projecting at an angle above the horizontal and in a position to receive the bottles neck up and swingable on their pivots from said position to an angle below the horizontal to substantially invert the bottles, reciprocating means for moving the bottles trans versely of the conveyor onto the supports, operating means for said reciprocating means, and means for preventing the projection of said reciprocating means after it has been retracted until said supporting members have moved to their receiving position,

8. In a filled bottle inspecting machine, the combination with a conveyor supporting the botties in a vertical upright position, of a rock horizontal and inclined from the vertical, a reciprocating member moving transversely of the conveyor to move the bottles on said conveyor to said fingers and tilt the same to cause the weight of the bottle to overcome said biasing means and rotate said rock shaft to project the fingers at an angle below the horizontal to substantially invert the bottles, drive means for said reciprocating means, and means controlled by said rock shaft for rendering said drive means inoperative to project said reciprocating means across the conveyor while said fingers are in a position below the horizontal.

CHARLES HERMAN MILLER. 

